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‘Panama Papers’ revelations trigger global probes

– Kremlin denials –

Offshore financial dealings are not illegal in themselves but may be used to hide assets from tax authorities, launder the proceeds of criminal activities or conceal misappropriated or politically inconvenient wealth.

The trove of documents was anonymously leaked to German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and shared with more than 100 media groups by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). More information is expected over the coming weeks.

The first revelations elicited a chorus of denials, including from the Kremlin, which suggested a US plot after the leaks put a close friend of Putin’s at the top of an offshore empire worth more than $2 billion.

“Putin, Russia, our country, our stability and the upcoming elections are the main target, specifically to destabilise the situation,” said a Kremlin spokesman, claiming the journalists were former officers from the US state department, the CIA and special services.

Among other key allegations of the probe, which named about 140 political figures, including 12 current or former heads of state:

– The families of some of China’s top brass – including President Xi – used offshore tax havens to conceal their fortunes, including at least eight current or former members of the ruling Communist Party’s most powerful body.

– Iceland’s prime minister secretly owned millions of dollars in bank bonds at a time when his country’s banking system was collapsing in 2008. He has so far refused to step down.

– Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri, his father and brother were reportedly registered as directors of an offshore company in the Bahamas. Macri said “there was nothing strange about the operation” and it was declared to the tax authorities.

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– A member of FIFA’s ethics committee, Juan Pedro Damiani, had business ties with three men indicted in a corruption scandal.

– A Panamanian shell company may have helped hide millions of dollars from a $40 million British gold bullion robbery at London-Heathrow Airport in 1983 that is etched in criminal folklore.

– Oscar-winning Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar and actor Jackie Chan were among celebrities named in the papers.

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